New pullets, night lights advice?

[woodmort]

I provide food, water and housing for my chickens, in turn I expect them to repay me with eggs. To that end I want them to lay in the winter months so I have lighting in my coop, I have 2 rooms, each has a 20w florescent light--the kind that go under a kitchen cabinet--on the ceiling. Each is attached to a double timer--they go on/off twice a day. They are set to go on at 6 am/off at 9 and again on at 6 pm /off at 10. This give the birds 13 hrs of light. I leave them on this schedule for 365 days--assuming the power doesn't go off, in which case I have to reset everything--so for part of the year they are redundant. I feel this extra light, especially in the morning gets them laying, while the evening ones get them eating longer (I will toss in some mixed grain scratch in the evenings during the winter months). I also find that the lights being on in the evening gives them a target for coming to roost.

Now there are some that feel the extra light, by forcing the chickens to lay, will burn them out. My feeling is there are a certain number of eggs that a hen will lay so whether you get them sooner or later is up to you.

 

[aart]

I also find that the lights being on in the evening gives them a target for coming to roost.

Have you observed them 'getting caught off the roost' in the dark when the light goes off?

Now there are some that feel the extra light, by forcing the chickens to lay, will burn them out. My feeling is there are a certain number of eggs that a hen will lay so whether you get them sooner or later is up to you.

Do you find they molt as 'normal'(in the fall/winter)?
They'll never run out of ova, but overall health can be affected detrimentally if they don't get a break to molt and recharge.

 

[woodmort]

Have you observed them 'getting caught off the roost' in the dark when the light goes off?


Do you find they molt as 'normal'(in the fall/winter)?
They'll never run out of ova, but overall health can be affected detrimentally if they don't get a break to molt and recharge.

Never noticed a problem--usually they are on the roost before the lights go out. Also seem to molt at the same time--generally annually from their first lay.

 

[zapperbunny]

That .... yes... tricky

I keep thinking that somewhere I saw a timer that you screw in between the bulb and the fixture.... but where?

Try eBay!

 

[Tobster11]

Does anyone have an auto chicken door that they get to open when it is still dark so their chickens can go to an enclosed, secure lighted run? Like, have a light on a timer outside in the run, over the auto door, that turns on at 6:00 AM so the sensor on the auto door thinks it's daylight and opens the door?

For the coop, I have one of those sunrise-simulation lights that I though I might foist off on my chickens. Personally, I'd rather have complete dark while hitting my snooze repeatedly. The light is so annoying I just want to smack it!

But since chickens don't need to hit snooze 5 times before they can function in the morning, they might appreciate that sunrise simulation crap???

Great thread, by the way! This will be my first winter, so I'm also trying to decide how much effort I want to go through for extra light. We have a mild climate (average winter lows in the 40s and 30s, with rare 20s) and good ventilation. Since I have 18 chickens I'm not too worried about egg production falling off... there will still be some, I imagine.

I mostly just want to do my morning coop chores before leaving for work, without having to fumble around in the dark. I'd like to just breeze out to an empty, lighted coop, while the chickens are all out in a lighted yard, and have things be business as usual!

I have an auto door that is on a timer built from an auto radio antenna. It runs off of a lawnmower battery with a trickle charger to keep charged. Been using it for 3 months now and has worked great. I have it opening around dawn and closing about 30 minutes after sunset. Whole system cost me about $70.

 

[Feath3rDust3r]

My friend and I tried an experiment last year. She had a light in her coup and I didn't put one in mine. We had an extra cold and long winter and she got 30 eggs a day from her 40 chickens and I got 2 or 3 from my 25. By the time i collected my eggs they were always frozen even tho i went out twice a day so I wasn't able to use them anyway. When spring came I had beautiful fluffy healthy chickens ready to lay like mad...but her poor girls looked very much the worse for wear with huge bald spots on thier necks. She called a vet about it and was told it was from the stress of winter. So my mind is made up...I'd rather have healthy chickens than eggs all winter...especially frozen ones!!

 

[Folly's place]

That's pretty extreme, and more may have been going on there.
My flock has lighting over winter, and everyone looks fine anyway. I don't get as many eggs then, but some, and it's good. My birds seem to live as long as anyone's too.
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

My friend and I tried an experiment last year. She had a light in her coup and I didn't put one in mine. We had an extra cold and long winter and she got 30 eggs a day from her 40 chickens and I got 2 or 3 from my 25. By the time i collected my eggs they were always frozen even tho i went out twice a day so I wasn't able to use them anyway. When spring came I had beautiful fluffy healthy chickens ready to lay like mad...but her poor girls looked very much the worse for wear with huge bald spots on thier necks. She called a vet about it and was told it was from the stress of winter. So my mind is made up...I'd rather have healthy chickens than eggs all winter...especially frozen ones!!

Throw out the door recommendations that laying hens need only 16% crude [protein during winter. That is based on hens in a thermally neutral environment where feather quality is not a major concern. Up the protein and vitamins a bit when hens must fight the environment more.

 

[aart]

but her poor girls looked very much the worse for wear with huge bald spots on thier necks.

That's pretty extreme, and more may have been going on there.

Agrees it sounds extreme, and there may be other factors.

You can use lights and still let them molt/rest.
It's all in the application....which can be tricky.
Like most other things chicken, there's no magic hard numbers to go by.

 

[MiaS]

I haven't read through the whole thread, but I live in Montana and I do not offer extra light, nor heat, in the winter. They come out to eat and drink just fine, as long as I shovel them a path. I assume our climates are pretty similar.

Yes, they would be pretty similar I think